Elbit Exhibits 'Jupiter' Space Camera

Israel's latest "eye in the sky," produced by Elbit Systems, was unveiled Wednesday at the Ilan Ramon international space conference.

By Hana Levi Julian & Yoni Kempinski

First Publish: 1/27/2010, 2:12 PM / Last Update: 1/27/2010, 2:19 PM

Israel's newest space camera, the “Jupiter” was unveiled Wednesday morning at the Ilan Ramon International Space Conference. The new camera, designed for installation on the Israeli satellite OptSat 3000, is currently in the final stages of development.

The camera is able to observe objects that are 50 centimeters (20 inches) long, cruising at an altitude of 600 kilometers (approximately 373 miles).

It is produced by Elbit Systems, whose optoelectronics division, El-Op, has become a world leader in the manufacture of space cameras, camera systems and related space programs. Elbit's products are sold in both the commercial and scientific sectors, and for military and civilian applications.

Two other El-Op cameras, the “Mercury” and “Patton” are installed on Israeli civilian satellites, the Eros and Eros B, as well as on two intelligence satellites, the Ofek 5 and the Horizon 7.

A number of cameras produced by El-Op are also being used in foreign space programs as well. In Korea, the “Oranos” camera is installed on the KOMPSATII satellite; in India, the “TAUVEX” camera is installed in the GSAT-4 satellite and is being used to study astronomy. In France, the “Venus” web cam is being used as part of the CNES global monitoring program for ecological issues.

At the conference, Elbit exhibited its latest military system for satellite communications traffic (SOTM), one which allows high data transfer rate on broadband. The system is designed to meet the increasing demand for modern battlefield communications through interactive multimedia information transfer via satellite. This technology has already made its mark in the civilian sector, the company noted.